Rice and Beans

Ingredients:

* 1 pound dried red beans, rinsed and sorted over
* 3 tablespoons Earth Balance margerine
* 3 vegan chicken breasts, cubed
* 1 large onion
* 3/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
* 2 cups chopped mushrooms
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* Pinch cayenne
* 3 bay leaves
* 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
* 4 Tofurky sausages (I used Italian, but I think I would have preferred The beer ones)
* 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
* 10 cups vegetable stock, or water
* 4 cups cooked rice

Place the beans in a large bowl or pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Let soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and set aside.

In a large pot, melt the Earth Balance over medium-high heat. Add the "chickn" and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the onions, mushrooms and bell peppers. Season with the salt, pepper, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the bay leaves, parsley, thyme, and sausage, and cook, stirring to brown the sausage, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans and stock or water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and starting to thicken, about 2 hours. (Should the beans become too thick and dry, add more water, about 1/4 cup at a time.)

Remove from the heat and with the back of a heavy spoon, mash about 1/4 of the beans against the side of the pot. Continue to cook until the beans are tender and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves.

Serve over rice. It makes A LOT. Which is a good thing.

The non vegan recipe calls for regular sausages instead of vegan ones, Ham hocks (instead of the vegan chicken breast I put) and bacon fat instead of earth balance. It also calls for a couple of celery stalks, but I don't 'do' celery

Creamy Sweet Potato Casserole (Vegan)

3 cups fusilli
1.5 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 head of Kale, chopped

SAUCE
1.25 cups soy milk
1/3 cup raw unsalted cashews
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons Earth Balance Margarine
3 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon ginger
pinch of paprika
pepper to taste
-----

Breadcrumbs (optional)

Cook pasta. Ten minutes before the pasta is done, add Kale. Drain and put aside. Cook sweet potatoes until soft but not falling apart. Throw all the sauce ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. Mix everything together in casserole dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs if desired. Bake @ 400 for 20 minutes.



--From the book

Vegan Yum Yum: Decadent (But Doable) Animal-Free Recipes for Entertaining and Everyday by Lauren Ulm.

Popcorn Brittle

While replacing the nuts in brittle with popcorn certainly removes a lot of fat, it also results in a wonderful hybrid--part caramel corn, part brittle. The brittle is crunchy and sweet, with just a hint of saltiness. About 1/4 cup kernels yields the correct amount of popcorn.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 ounces)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 5 1/2 cups popcorn, popped without salt or fat
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Line a baking sheet with foil; coat foil with cooking spray. Set aside.

Place popcorn in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Crush popcorn using a meat mallet or rolling pin; set aside.

Combine sugar, syrup, and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Cook, without stirring, until candy thermometer registers 270° (about 8 minutes). Stir in molasses and butter; cook until thermometer registers 290° (about 5 minutes). Stir in baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Stir popcorn into boiling syrup mixture. Working quickly, pour popcorn mixture onto prepared pan; spread to 1/4-inch thickness using a wooden spoon coated with cooking spray. Cool completely; break into large pieces.

Note: Store brittle in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

165 (6% from fat)

Fat:

1.1g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.4g,poly 0.1g)

Protein:

0.5g

Carbohydrate:

39.9g

Fiber:

0.6g

Cholesterol:

3mg

Iron:

0.4mg

Sodium:

123mg

Calcium:

12mg

Taco Soup

1 can (the bigger size, that is like twice the size of normal cans) of diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can Rotel (I like the hot one)
1 can diced jalapenos (or you can go with habaneros if you like the spice!)
1 lb. beef (I really recommend using the super lean stuff if you want this to be healthy)
1 packet taco seasoning (or mix your own)
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix (this is the secret ingredient).

In a big pot, brown meat. Then, add everything else - DO NOT DRAIN. Simmer for a bit, then serve with frito type corn chips, cheese, and even sour cream if you like. It's good the first time, but gets better as it ages. It's doubtful you'll have leftovers, but if you do this soup freezes well. Total cost: about $12. Guaranteed to please husbands (even the ones who hate tomatoes) and kids.

Crash Hot Potatoes

Crash Hot Potatoes
Makes as many as you please

Several Smallish Potatoes, red or russet
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
2-3 Sprigs Rosemary

Preheat oven to 450º F.

Scrub the potatoes clean. Boil them until tender all the way through. If you have a pressure cooker, cook the potatoes whole on a trivet with 1 cup of water for 10-20 minutes at high-pressure, depending on the size of your potatoes. Turn off the heat and let the cooker release pressure naturally.

Place the cooked potatoes on a baking sheet drizzled with olive oil. I like to use parchment paper here to keep things clean and non-stick.

Make an X cut on the top of each potato for easier squishing. Use a potato masher and gently press on each potato until squished but not obliterated. You want them to stay together somewhat. If they fall apart, have no fear! Just scoop the bits into piles and proceed.

Once smashed, generously sprinkle salt over each potato. Follow with pepper, and douse everything with more olive oil. If desired, sprinkle each potato with freshly chopped rosemary.

Bake the potatoes at 450º F for 20-25 minutes, longer is better as long as they’re not burning. Serve hot! I sprinkled smoked paprika over them to finish, but I put that on everything.

Cincinnati Chili

1 large onion chopped
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa or 1/2 ounce grated unsweetened chocolate
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 (16-ounce) package uncooked dried spaghetti pasta
Toppings (see below)

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, saute onion, ground beef, garlic, and chili powder until ground beef is slightly cooked. Add allspice, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, unsweetened cocoa or chocolate, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, and water. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours. Remove from heat.

Cook spaghetti according to package directions and transfer onto individual serving plates (small oval plates are traditional).

Ladle chili over spaghetti and serve with toppings of your choice. Oyster crackers are served in a separate container on the side.

Toppings:
Oyster Crackers
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Chopped Onion Kidney Beans (16-ounce) can

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Cincinnati chili lovers order their chili by number. Two, Three, Four, or Five Way. Let your guest create their own final product.
Two-Way Chili: Chili served on spaghetti
Three-Way Chili: Additionally topped with shredded Cheddar cheese
Four-Way Chili: Additionally topped with chopped onions
Five-Way Chili: Additionally topped with kidney beans